Firing in Connaught Place after group out for dinner brandishes gun, thrashed by public

Four out of the group of six men were arrested by Delhi Police after they exchanged fire with cops near Shivaji Stadium. One of the men had pulled out a pistol following an argument with a kiosk owner and fired a round when policemen arrived.

Delhi Police retaliated with firing at the men, including two murder accused, who had come to Connaught Place from Uttam Nagar for dinner.(Sonu Mehta/HT Photo)

High drama unfolded near Shivaji Stadium in Connaught Place late Wednesday night when a Delhi police team exchanged fire with a group of men who allegedly used a pistol to threaten a cigarette kiosk owner, police said.

The drama ended with the arrest of four men even as two of their associates fled in Ertiga car. The group was thrashed by people before being whisked away to the local police station. It was found that two of them were out on bail in a recent murder case, said BK Singh, DCP (New Delhi).

The brief exchange of fire took place behind Shivaji Stadium at around 11.30pm on Wednesday after the six men arrived from Uttam Nagar to have dinner in Connaught Place, police said. After having dinner, they visited a cigarette kiosk in the neighbourhood.

While having a smoke these men, between 25 to 35 years of age, entered into an argument with the kiosk owner, the DCP said. “In the heat of the moment, one of them pulled out a pistol and pointed it at the kiosk owner’s temple and threatened to shoot him. When other people intervened, he pointed the pistol at them,” Singh said.

Sensing trouble, one of the eyewitnesses ran to a police picket nearby and alerted the policemen on duty. A group of five-six policemen rushed to the scene and told the man to drop his gun.

“But the man fired a round. The police team too fired three-four shots in response,” the DCP said, adding it was yet to be ascertained if the suspect fired in the air on in the direction of the policemen. No one was hurt in the firing.

In the panic that ensued, suspects tried to escape the crime scene. While two of them managed to get into their Maruti Ertiga car nearby and flee, four of them were chased and caught by the police and public. The pistol used in the firing too has been seized.

“The public thrashed them, but we managed to rescue them and take them away. Two of them were found to have been released on bail a month ago in a murder case. We are ascertaining the background of the others,” the DCP said.